A Different Beat

Funeral For A Friend tub-thumper Pat Lundy, who joined the Welsh post-hardcore/melodic hardcore crew last year, has the unique perspective of having been a fan of the band, then losing touch with them musically before eventually reconnecting with their new approach. Luckily the latter happened at the time they had an opening on the drummer's stool. This enabled Lundy, previously of English metalcore outfit (and former Funeral For A Friend touring buddies) Rise to Remain to slot neatly into the ranks.

“It was unexpected (joining), because I'd heard through the grapevine that Ryan (Richards) was leaving, (but) I didn't know when and how it was all going to roll out,” he explains. “One day I got a call from 'Bouch' (Richard Boucher), who plays bass and he asked me to come out to Cardiff, because I live in London, to do an audition. I remember just getting out of bed that morning, I went and looked at the tracks and did my audition like five or six days later. I think they told me on the day that I was in, because I think they had the other auditions in the previous days. But I had the benefit, I kinda had the upper hand I guess out of all the other guys who went for the gig, I suppose. Rise had toured with Funeral a whole bunch, so I knew them real well, and we all really got on from like the very first tour. I was crazy young and learned a lot from those guys. So it has worked out in a weird kind of way, like the universe was aligned. It was all in the timing.”

Considering he was only enlisted mid-last year, how much songwriting input did he have on the latest record? “Well, it was weird, because the drums had been tracked by their previous drummer. When I joined, they asked before I'd said anything really, they were like, 'right, we're going to put you into the studio and you're gonna track the drums again.' So I got two weeks to compose for the record, but it was within a bell curve… I had to write within the limitations of the actual riffs that were recorded, and all the bass lines and solos they sent to me. I had to write my parts to their parts. I guess I was able to change a lot of the dynamics in the drums, add a lot of my own fills and change Ryan's. I guess it was like drumming by numbers, if that makes any sense, because it was kind of mapped out for me. I just got to freestyle most of it, but within what they'd done already. On the next record obviously I'll be a part of the entire writing process, so that'll be a treat. Hopefully I'll have more of a say and it might sound differently again. But we're already getting ideas for that sort of stuff.”

The sticksman is asked what inspired the heavier direction assumed on ensuing latest disc, Conduit, which often recalls their aggressive, hardcore roots. “Other members leaving, for one, who perhaps wanted to pursue more mainstream-sounding stuff,” he says. “Matt (Davies-Kreye, vocals) is a hardcore kid at heart; he's grown up listening to so many cool bands. You wouldn't have necessarily got that from the earlier Funeral records, but you can definitely tell that from Conduit. Stuff like BoySetsFire, Vision of Disorder; heavy bands, man, that were in the early EPs. (2003's) Four Ways To Scream Your Name and (2002's) Between Order And Model were two releases that definitely had that sound.”

Despite being a fully-fledged member, he can still adopt a pseudo-outsider's viewpoint when evaluating the band's career. “I think personally it changed drastically when (2003 debut) Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation came out. If I'm being honest, I did as well, man. They lost me as a fan, so…. But yeah, it all worked out, the band is in a good place. Everyone's really stoked, 'cause when you're really excited about the music that you've made, going out and touring it isn't ever going to be a chore. No matter how hectic the schedule, you'll just love it, because the shows will always be rad, you'll all be enjoying what you're playing and vibing off on-stage. I don't think songs like The Diary and Rules And Games are going to make an appearance anytime soon, because it's just a different band now, to be honest.” 

Lundy also hints that Funeral For A Friend's recent output is more along the lines of what he himself enjoys musically. “When I started Rise I was really young, and when I was young, I was into really aggressively offensive, horrible music,” he laughs. “Not horrible, but the cookie kind of growling stuff that I guess related to me at that age. As I've got older I've got into more and more stuff, and I would definitely say that Funeral now is more of the demographic of what I would be into. I suppose I grew up on hardcore as well, so straying from metal doesn't seem like too weird of a thing for me to do. The new stuff is heavy anyway, (so) I get to do my thing still. I was convinced that it would work, because I enjoy heavy bands. While I'm able-bodied, I want to fuck my body up playing really hard shit, playing really fast and whatever it is. I don't want to join a jazz band yet, you know what I mean? I guess I knew that they were convinced of a new, heavy dynamic and it felt right to be a part of it.” 

When it's proposed that being armed with a slew of new, nastier material could come in handy if they need to vent some personal frustration while on tour, he quickly agrees. The drummer plays his own part in this though; the self-confessed “wind-up merchant” using his fandom of Justin Bieber to irritate his band-mates. “It's just laid-back; we all take the piss and just have fun. I get the guys pissed off all day long; play music that they hate and just throw stuff at them. Get them all pissed off, unplug their iPod chargers and shit, real twisted stuff. So when they get on-stage, they kick right into gear and just let it all out.” 

Having spent almost the entirety of 2012 recording their new album, Funeral For A Friend return to Australia, where the quintet has amassed an increasingly large fan-base. Their upcoming run is their most extensive visit Down Under to date. “I guess when you get into the swing of things it's kind of like, tour mode we call it. When you get into a rhythm of touring, it's nigh on impossible to break and if you have more than, I guess a fortnight off… I don't think that's even happening at all this year.” 

Funeral For A Friend will be playing the following dates:

Wednesday 8 May - The Rev, Brisbane QLD
Thursday 9 May - Surfers Paradise Beer Garden, Gold Coast QLD
Friday 10 May - The Cambridge, Newcastle NSW
Saturday 11 May - Manning Bar, Sydney NSW
Sunday 12 May - The Basement, Canberra ACT
Tuesday 14 May - The Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC 
Wednesday 15 May - Pier Live, Frankston VIC
Thursday 16 May - Fowlers Live, Adelaide SA
Friday 17 May - Amplifier Bar, Perth WA
Saturday 18 May - Prince Of Wales, Bunbury WA